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6 Oct 2017

Osinbajo Speaks on Biafra Agitation, Herdsmen Attacks, Recovered Loot

While speaking with members of the civil society organisations under the aegis of the Civil Society Situation Room on Thursday, Nigeria's Vice President, opens up about the Biafra agitation, recovered loot and attacks by herdsmen across the country.

Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s Vice President, has spoken about the Biafra agitation, recovered loot and attacks by herdsmen across the country.

According to him, most of the clamour about marginalisation are “not factual”.

Osinbajo pointed out that whereas the South-east have been complaining about the composition of the military service chiefs, the zone enjoyed such dominance during the administration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Osinbajo said these on Thursday in a chat with members of the civil society organisations under the aegis of the Civil Society Situation Room.

The VP said while APC states in the North-west of the country are complaining that all they have are junior ministers under the Buhari government, states in the South-east can boast of having senior ministers except one.

He said beyond seeking for ethnic balance, Nigerians should begin to consider the issue of merit.

“What I am saying is that we must drop this tendency of becoming ethnic warlords and forge a national consensus on the use of merit in deciding appointments in the country,” he said.

Commenting on herdsmen attacks, Osinbajo said the problem is being dealt with. “I think several herdsmen have been found with arms , arrested and are facing trial.

“President Buhari has given orders to security agencies to apprehend any herdsman found with arms or dangerous weapons and the same goes with anyone with illegal arms,” he said.

On what the administration has been doing with the recovered funds from treasury looters, the vice president said that the monies have been merged into the current budget.

Osinbajo disclosed that there is a dedicated account in Central Bank of Nigeria for recovered funds and that soon, government would make it public “how much more looted funds has been recovered in terms of amounts in local and foreign currencies as well as in real estates properties.”

On power, the VP explained that one of the major problems is distribution and not generation, adding that presently generation capacity was about 7,000 MW.

He said the government was introducing a policy where independent persons can supply meters to electricity users and meter same which is a departure from when it used to be the exclusive preserve of the Discos.